Visit earlier in the day if you're with young children and want time to explore the play areas before they become busier. Morning temperatures are also generally more comfortable for spending time in the outdoor climbing, water-play, and exploration spaces.
Quick overview
Wildlife Explorers Basecamp is an interactive, family-focused area where kids can climb, crawl, play, and explore while discovering animals and the natural world.
- What you’ll see: Explore hands-on play spaces and animal habitats featuring species such as okapis, capybaras, meerkats, and other wildlife.
- What makes it different: Purpose-built play structures and interactive experiences let children explore animal-inspired environments through movement and discovery.
- Pro tip: Allow extra time if you’re visiting with children, as the play areas can easily become a longer stop than a typical animal habitat.
How to visit Wildlife Explorers Basecamp at the San Diego Zoo
- Wildlife Explorers Basecamp is included with regular San Diego Zoo admission, with no separate ticket required. The area is designed especially for younger visitors, combining animal encounters with hands-on play and exploration.
- Located in the front-left section of the Zoo, Wildlife Explorers Basecamp is divided into themed areas that encourage children to explore different habitats. Follow signs from the Zoo entrance toward the Basecamp area; nearby landmarks include Elephant Odyssey and the Asian Passage.
- The area includes several distinct zones, including Wildlife Explorers Basecamp’s Spineless Marvels, Wild Woods, Elephant Play Yard, and Village Playground, with climbing structures, interactive elements, and spaces inspired by the natural world.
- Look out for wildlife such as capybaras, meerkats, okapis, and naked mole-rats as you explore the area. Animal viewing is integrated with the play spaces, so children can move between active play and wildlife observation without leaving the zone.
How to best experience Wildlife Explorers Basecamp at San Diego Zoo
Best time to visit
How long to spend
Allow 45–60 minutes for a quick visit, or 1–2 hours if children want to use several play areas and stop at the animal habitats. The Basecamp is designed for active exploration, so children may need considerably longer than a typical walk-through exhibit.
Where it fits in your itinerary
Build it into your route rather than treating it as a quick animal-viewing stop. It works particularly well as a longer activity break between nearby animal exhibits.
Crowd patterns
The play structures can become busier around the middle of the day, particularly when families spend longer periods in the main activity areas. Arriving earlier gives children more space to explore climbing structures and interactive features without having to wait for popular elements.
What to prioritize if time is short
Start with the areas that match your child's interests, then combine play with nearby animal viewing. Wild Woods offers climbing and exploration, while Spineless Marvels introduces children to smaller creatures; leave time for the Village Playground if you're traveling with younger children.
Common mistakes to avoid
Don't plan Wildlife Explorers Basecamp as a five-minute stop between exhibits. Its climbing structures, interactive elements, and animal habitats are designed to encourage active exploration, so rushing through can mean missing much of what makes the area different from a standard Zoo exhibit.
What makes Wildlife Explorers Basecamp a unique experience at San Diego Zoo
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Turn wildlife discovery into an all-day adventure
What sets Wildlife Explorers Basecamp apart is the way its experiences connect play, animal viewing, and habitat exploration rather than separating them into conventional exhibits. Children can climb through Wild Woods, investigate tiny creatures in Spineless Marvels, discover aquatic and cold-blooded species at Cool Critters, and scramble through Desert Dunes, all within one area of the San Diego Zoo.
Climb the Tree of Dreams in Wild Woods
The Tree of Dreams is one of Wildlife Explorers Basecamp’s biggest play structures, rising about 20 feet above the ground in the Wild Woods area. Children can reach the top using a suspension bridge, net tunnel, or spiral staircase, then explore the surrounding climbing structures and nature-inspired play spaces. Nearby, squirrel monkeys and coatis add a wildlife-viewing element to the adventure.
Cross the Discovery Bridge and explore the forest canopy
The Prebys Foundation Discovery Bridge creates an elevated route through Wild Woods, giving children a different perspective of the surrounding habitat. As they cross and explore, they can move between climbing elements, boulders, and woodland-inspired spaces while observing how animals navigate environments above and around the forest floor.
Cool off at the waterfall and splash areas
Wild Woods also brings water into the adventure with a waterfall grotto, stream, splash pad, and water jets. These features turn the zone into more than a climbing playground, giving children opportunities to interact with water while exploring an environment inspired by a forest ecosystem. It is especially useful as a change of pace during a warm day at the Zoo.
Enter the world of spineless animals
Inside the McKinney Family Spineless Marvels building in the Rainforest zone, children can discover animals without backbones through immersive displays and hands-on experiences. Look for leafcutter ants, butterflies, spiders, scorpions, stick insects, and other invertebrates, with exhibits designed to show how these often-overlooked animals contribute to their ecosystems.
Watch a leafcutter ant colony at work
The Rainforest experience goes beyond static displays with a live leafcutter ant colony, where visitors can observe the insects carrying and working with pieces of leaves. Other interactive features include microscope stations, a real beehive, and the Migration Flyover, creating several ways to examine small-scale wildlife behavior up close.
Meet unusual reptiles and amphibians at Cool Critters
The two-story Cool Critters building in Marsh Meadows focuses on reptiles, amphibians, and fish, bringing visitors face-to-face with species that are easy to overlook in larger animal exhibits. Depending on the habitat, you can encounter unusual animals such as the Fijian iguana, axolotl, and Chinese giant salamander, while learning about the adaptations that help them survive in wetland environments.
Explore a desert wash in Desert Dunes
Desert Dunes recreates the rocky, dry environment of a desert wash and turns it into an exploration space for children. Climbing rocks, caves, and nature-inspired play features let them move through the landscape while nearby habitats introduce fennec foxes, prairie dogs, desert tortoises, and burrowing owls, and the ways these animals cope with heat and limited water.
Know before you go
- Opening hours: Wildlife Explorers Basecamp follows San Diego Zoo’s daily operating hours rather than having separate published hours. The Zoo is open year-round, with hours varying by date; check the calendar for your visit.
- Fall and Spring: 9am to 6pm
- Summer: 9am to 9pm (extended evening hours)
- Winter: 9am to 5pm
- Fall and Spring: 9am to 6pm
- Best time to visit: Morning is a good time to explore Basecamp, particularly if you want children to have more time and space for the active play areas before the day gets busier.
- Plan enough time: Basecamp covers more than three acres and includes four habitat-inspired areas: Desert Dunes, Wild Woods, Marsh Meadows, and Rainforest. Allow substantially more time than you would for a single animal exhibit.
- Water play: The Water Play area is part of Basecamp, so children may get wet. Explorer-sized body dryers are available near the Rainforest area for use after water activities.
- Presentations: Wildlife ambassador presentations can take place at the Rady Ambassador Presentation Area; check the Zoo’s schedule on the day of your visit for current times.
- Location: Wildlife Explorers Basecamp is close to the entrance, in the front-left section of the San Diego Zoo, near Skyfari East.
- From the entrance: Follow the Zoo’s signs and map toward the left side of the grounds and Skyfari East; Basecamp is located close to the Zoo’s lower pathways.
- Main areas: Once inside Basecamp, look for the four nature-play environments: Rainforest, Wild Woods, Marsh Meadows, and Desert Dunes.
- Key landmarks: The Tree of Dreams, Water Play area, Spineless Marvels, Cool Critters, and Rady Ambassador Presentation Area are useful landmarks when navigating the Basecamp.
- Route planning: Basecamp is best treated as a substantial stop rather than something to pass through quickly. Its location near several Zoo attractions makes it easy to combine with other exhibits in this part of the park.
- Wheelchair access: San Diego Zoo provides accessible pathways and access to many experiences and habitat areas, although some parts of the Zoo have steep grades.
- Mobility assistance: Manual wheelchairs and ECVs are available to rent near the Zoo entrance on a first-come, first-served basis. An on-call ADA shuttle is also available for guests with mobility-related disabilities.
- Family facilities: A family restroom and nursing room are available in the Basecamp area near the Water Play area, making it convenient for families with young children.
- Strollers: You can bring your own stroller or rent one near the entrance; stroller rentals are available on a first-come, first-served basis.
- Stay on designated paths: For your safety and the animals' welfare, remain on public paths and follow barriers and posted instructions throughout Basecamp.
- Supervise children: Basecamp includes climbing structures, water features, elevated play elements, and active exploration areas, so children should be supervised throughout their visit.
- Respect the animals: Do not feed, touch, or attempt to interact with animals unless a Zoo team member specifically invites you to do so.
- Water play: Children using the Water Play area should follow posted safety instructions and be prepared to get wet; bring suitable clothing or a change of clothes if needed.
- Follow staff instructions: Animal habitats, play areas, presentations, and other experiences can change or close temporarily for animal care, maintenance, weather, or safety reasons. Follow directions from Zoo staff during your visit.
Frequently asked questions about Wildlife Explorers Basecamp at San Diego Zoo
Wildlife Explorers Basecamp is a three-acre area designed around play, exploration, and wildlife discovery. It combines animal habitats with interactive experiences across four themed environments: Rainforest, Wild Woods, Marsh Meadows, and Desert Dunes.
You can encounter a wide variety of species across the different habitats, including squirrel monkeys, coatis, capybaras, fennec foxes, prairie dogs, desert tortoises, burrowing owls, meerkats, okapis, reptiles, amphibians, fish, butterflies, and leafcutter ants.
Children can climb, scramble, crawl, splash, and explore nature-inspired play environments. Highlights include the 20-foot Tree of Dreams, Discovery Bridge, Water Play area, climbing structures, caves, and interactive exhibits spread throughout the four themed zones.
The Tree of Dreams is a roughly 20-foot-tall play structure in Wild Woods. Children can reach its upper levels using features such as a suspension bridge, net tunnel, and spiral staircase before exploring the surrounding woodland-inspired play area.
Yes. Wild Woods includes a waterfall grotto, stream, splash pad, and water jets where children can cool off and interact with the environment. Body dryers are available nearby, but bringing a change of clothes can still be useful.
McKinney Family Spineless Marvels is an immersive two-story experience in the Rainforest area dedicated to invertebrates. You can see animals such as leafcutter ants, butterflies, spiders, scorpions, and stick insects, along with interactive features, microscope stations, a real beehive, and the Migration Flyover.
Cool Critters is a two-story building in Marsh Meadows focused on reptiles, amphibians, and fish. Visitors can discover unusual species including the axolotl, Fijian iguana, and Chinese giant salamander while learning about life in wetland environments.
Desert Dunes recreates a dry desert-wash environment where children can climb rocks, explore caves, and scramble through nature-inspired structures. Nearby habitats feature desert-adapted animals such as fennec foxes, prairie dogs, desert tortoises, and burrowing owls.
Yes. The area is designed with children and families in mind, with a mix of age-appropriate exploration and play experiences. However, some structures involve climbing, water, or elevated areas, so children should be supervised according to the posted requirements.
Yes. Explorer-sized body dryers are available near the Rainforest area, which can be useful after using the Water Play features. A family restroom and nursing room are also located near the Basecamp area.
Although Basecamp is particularly appealing to families with children, adults can also explore the animal habitats, observe the unusual species, and experience the interactive exhibits. The play structures are primarily designed for children, while the wildlife and educational elements are for visitors of all ages.
